Arrival
by Astralis
Summary: Sara comes home from a conference. NS.


**DISCLAIMER:** I've just checked. I still don't own them.

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She's as close to leaning out the window as it's possible to be on a plane as the aircraft begins its descent over Las Vegas. With a thrill of recognition she names to herself the various casinos and landmarks that make Las Vegas, well, Las Vegas. This is the first time that returning to Vegas, from a conference or anything else, seems like coming home. It's a new feeling, because for the whole of her life prior to this, _home_ has been the big old B&B where she grew up on the Californian coast. This is new, and this is exciting.

Nick's there waiting when she gets off the plane. She knew he'd be there, but she's still relieved, and it still makes her heart flip when she sees him grinning at her through the crowd, because she's not used to having someone waiting for her at the airport, much less someone with a gorgeous Texan accent who missed her while she was away.

The space between them suddenly disappears and then he's hugging her, his warm strong arms enfolding her body. She wonders how she coped without him for five whole days, wonders how she ever managed to go away from him as he whispers "Hey, baby," in her ear. Any other time she'd tell him not to call her that, but now it really doesn't matter, now she likes it. "I missed you," she says into his shoulder, and the cynical little voice in the back of her head that observes all that goes on points out that she's never said that so genuinely before. She _did_ miss him, so much it physically hurt when she lay alone in bed at the hotel in Atlanta, thinking hundreds of miles across country to Vegas, thinking about Nick and the lab and feeling so _alone_.

"Suitcase," says Nick, his lips moving against her hair. "And then we can go home."

She pulls back and looks at him, really looks, looks at his eyes and his smile and thinks she might just fall in love all over again. Then she yawns and she just can't help it, because she's been away at the conference for the last five days and she hasn't slept well at all.

"You okay?" asks Nick, looking at her, because it's eleven o'clock in the morning and she should have slept all night.

"Just haven't been sleeping," she says. He looks at her, then takes her hand and leads her towards the baggage claim.

Once she's got her suitcase they go out to the parking lot, in the warm Las Vegas sunshine, and it's such a change to feel the sun on her skin. It feels like home to be in Nick's Denali, and it feels like home to stop at their favourite Chinese takeout and get the same things they always do. And it really feels good to come home and sit cross-legged on the sofa, surrounded by things that are familiar and comfortable rather than the harsh sterility of her hotel room. Nick's sitting next to her, his knee touching hers, his fork dipping in and stealing her food. It's what they've done so many times and the familiarity of it is almost painful because it feels so good. She's never had this before and being away from Nick and from home these five days has made her realise just what it means to her.

When they both start yawning Nick takes her hand again and pulls her up and leads her into their bedroom. It's nice just to be able to pick what she wants to wear to bed out of her drawers, although while she was in Atlanta she was sleeping in one of Nick's t-shirts and a pair of his boxers that she'd filched from his drawer when he wasn't looking, and she liked that. It's nice to be able to brush her teeth in their bathroom, which is always a mess, instead of the impeccable cleanness of the one at the hotel.

And most of all it's nice to drop back onto her _own_ bed as Nick closes the curtains to block out the harsh daylight. It's even nicer when Nick comes to bed too and spoons in behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist. Sara knows now she'll be able to sleep, because she's missed this, because she physically couldn't sleep for thinking so hard about Nick and _home_. She laces the fingers of one hand through Nick's and rejoices in the feeling of skin on skin. When he kisses her head and whispers in her ear, "You know, I haven't been sleeping either," all she can do is sigh with contentment and close her eyes and know that even though there'll be conferences and seminars and separations like that as long as they're CSIs, there'll also always be homecomings and maybe that makes up for it all.

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THE END


End file.
